Hunter Hayes - Wild Blue, Part I (2019) [Hi-Res]

Hunter Hayes builds his new song “Wild Blue” around a percussive groove, singing over subtle piano about how the 27-year-old songwriter is undergoing a personal sea change. “Funny how you don’t know you can fly until you finally catch the wind,” he sings. “You think you know the part you play until somebody goes and rewrites the script.”

And then it all explodes, with Hayes delivering a soaring, cathartic guitar solo before the song returns to its subdued piano origin. The title track off Hayes’ just announced new album, it’s equal parts Ed Sheeran and John Mayer and points to a new self-aware direction for Hayes.

The Louisiana native performed on NBC’s Today earlier this week and announced that the album, Wild Blue (Part 1), will be released on Friday, August 16th. Recorded throughout Hayes’ Nashville home, which he converted into a studio, the LP is his first in three years and features the musician playing all sorts of instruments, from guitar, piano, and banjo to bass, drums, and percussive programming.